MATREX.

The book is an integral part of the Matrex exhibition project. The volume consists of three parts, dedicated to the Matryoshka, the Matrex building and the Pyramid. In tracing the unconventional cultural histories of the Matryoshka and the Pyramid – in terms of shapes, principles, hierarchies, etc. – the book discovers their various interconnections. The book resembles a series of “postcards”, presenting various kinds of anecdotes, which can be taken independently or combined to form diverse narratives. The aim of these stories is to support the core part of the book, covering the concept, architecture and programme of the Matrex building. The first edition of the book presented at the exhibition, constituting a peculiar prototype of a future publication, which will be released on the completion of construction of the Matrex.

Concept

In the book, we attempt to trace the aesthetic and ideological genealogy of the Matryoshka, arranging this in order with the corresponding historical periods.

According to one of the most plausible versions, the Matryoshka originated in the multi-layered wooden Easter egg. These began to be carved and painted in the environs of Moscow many years before the appearance of the Matryoshka. We pose a simple question: if the egg came first, then whose egg was it? The profile of the Matryoshka from Pokhlovsky Maidan was, it appears, inspired by the egg of the Chinese alligator...

Just as Alexei Shchusev was dreaming up the form that Lenin’s Mausoleum would take, the German professor Oskar Vogt was studying the brain of the deceased. Quite independently of one another, both determined that this was a matter of pyramids: the architect gave his structure this shape, while the neurobiologist explained Lenin’s genius in terms of the large size of the pyramidal neurons in his brain.

Naturally, we cannot help but ask why it is that contemporary architects continue to erect buildings with a pyramidal form.

WHERE TO BUY

Venice

Venice Biennale - Arsenale Bookshop,
Venice Arsenale, 30122, Venice, Italy

Venice Biennale – Giardini Bookshop,
Sestiere Castello, 30122, Venice, Italy

Milano

Triennale Milano bookshop,
Fondazione la Triennale di Milano, Parco Sempione, Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6, 20121, Milano, Italy

Armani Libri - Koenig Libri Srl.,
Via Manzoni, Angolo Via Crocerossa, 20121 Milano, Italy

Rome

Maxxi Rome Bookshop,
Via Guido Reni 4/A, 00196, Roma, Italy

Naples

Bookshop Museo Madre,
Via Luigi Settembrini 79, 80138, Naples, Italy

London

Serpentine Gallery,
Kensington Gardens, London W2 3XA, United Kingdom

Whitechapel Art Gallery,
80-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX, United Kingdom

Berlin

Buchhandlung Walther König,
Burgstraße 27, 10178, Berlin, Germany

Düsseldorf

Kunsthalle,
Grabbeplatz 4, 40213, Düsseldorf, Germany

Frankfurt am Main

Hasengasse,
Hasengasse 5, 60311, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Köln

Buchhandlung Walther König,
Ehrenstraße 4, 50672 Köln, Germany

München

Haus der Kunst,
Prinzregentenstraße 1, 80538, München, Germany

Nürnberg

Im Neuen Museum Nürnberg,
Luitpoldstraße 5, 90402, Nürnberg, Germany

Stuttgart

Kunstmuseum,
Kleiner Schlossplatz 1, 70173, Stuttgart, Germany

Wien

Museumsquartier,
Museumsplatz 1, A - 1070 Wien, Austria

Amsterdam

The Stedelijk Museum,
Museumplein 10, 1071 DJ, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Prague

National Gallery Prague,
Staroměstské nám., 12 110 15 Prague 1, Czech Republic

Moscow

Garage Art Book Shop,
Gorky Park, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia

Strelka Art Book Shop,
14 Bersenevskaya embankment, Bldg. 5А, Moscow, Russia

MMOMA Art Book Shop,
25 Petrovka Ul., Moscow, Russia

Falanster Bookstore,
12/27 Malyy Gnezdnikovskiy per., Moscow, Russia

Falanster Bookstore on Winzavod,
4th Syromyatnicheskiy per., 1, Bldg. 6, Moscow, Russia

Art.Lebedev Shop and Cafe,
35 B. Nikitskaya Ul., Moscow, Russia

St. Petersburg

Podpisnye Izdaniya Bookstore,
57 Liteyny Ave, St. Petersburg, Russia

Yekaterinburg

Piotrovsky Bookstore,
Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center,
3 Borisa Yeltsina Ul., Yekaterinburg, Russia

CREDITS

Publisher: INTERFACE
Year: 2016
Format: 120×170 mm
Copies: 1000
Codes:
ISBN 978-5-99060779-0-3
УДК 727:001.32 (470.311)
ББК 85.11
Б 51

Project team:
Editorial:
Boris Bernaskoni
Anton Kalgaev
Research:
Nikolay Erofeev
Victoria Zukerman
Translation and proofreading:
Ben McGarr
Graphic design:
BERNASKONI
Tonya Baydina
Architectural drawings:
Maria Каrаs
Infographics:
Vadim Ilyin
Maria Каrаs
3d visualization:
Kuzma Ermolaev
Production:
Agata Chachko
Mayak buro
Сoordinator: Anna Yukhtina